Journey to a Change of Heart

by NineTailBeastBall

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, Drama, Original Character, Starlight Glimmer, Princess Celestia, Crossover, Tragedy, Pokémon, Profanity, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 13732

Three talented trainers mysteriously end up in an entirely different universe without any recollection of their departure.

Marcus Thorne is a very talented Pokémon trainer who has a very troublesome history. His past has caused him to eventually become a near emotionless man who is cold to both people and Pokémon. One day as he and his companions are descending Mt. Silver, the suddenly end up in an entirely new dimension. One that is not inhabited by either Pokémon or humans.

Though it’s not my style, I decided to make this my very first story. The story here takes place during season 8 and is an alternate universe which will ignore any events that will happen in the final season. Since this is my first story, I could actually use some constructive criticism.

I don’t own anything.

Published 2018-06-24 19:10:12 UTC
Last updated 2019-09-21 23:31:27 UTC

Memories of the Past (revised)

Author's Note

I had some serious help from both Israel Yabuki and Wolfman93 to redo chapter one. I’m still new to writing stories so constructive criticism would be helpful.

I’ve put quite a bit for the first chapter so I recommend taking your time when reading.

Memories of the Past (revised)

Chapter One: Memories of the Past

As the sun had begun to rise, the rays of morning light at least somewhat raised the temperatures on a certain high and snowy mountain. Despite the presence of the sun, the cold wind continued blowing, keeping the ice and snow in the area from melting. This very mountain was so rarely visited by travelers due to the many dangers in its area. The temperature became so cold, that even most Fire-type Pokémon would feel a great deal of discomfort. Even with these extreme conditions, many other kinds of Pokémon managed to put up with the mountain and made it their home. Though it didn’t get many visitors, the dangerous landscape lying on the border between the Johto and Kanto regions had a name that was widely known... Mt. Silver.

While many dangerous Pokémon lived in the harsh environment of the mountain, the only Pokémon on top of Mt. Silver were those that belonged to the three young men who had decided to spend the night. However, regardless of what time it was, the screeches of the many dangerous Pokémon who lived on the mountain could be heard from below. Though, that didn’t make too much of a difference, since two of these three men were already wide awake.

The names of these young men were Kojak, Richard and Marcus. They were all very talented Pokémon trainers who came from separate regions. Whether it was by luck or fate, they have decided to travel the world together to see what new journeys would await them as a team, rather than individuals.

Kojak’s appearance almost made him look like he had never set foot into human civilization. Roughly the same height as Marcus, not a hint of fat could be found on his muscular body, compliments of his years of strict training. He didn’t care as much for his brown hair as he did for his muscles, which was unkempt and long enough to reach past his back. Being able to withstand how cold Mt. Silver was, he wore a gray, short-sleeve jacket that had the design of the Legendary Pokémon, Moltres on the back. Kojak was never one to wear complicated clothes that covered his legs and settled for a pair of black sweats, and though though people may have called him crazy, the young man always went barefoot.

He’ll probably never know why or how, but the day Kojak was found by Bruno of the Elite Four, he was near death and had absolutely no memory. Naturally, Bruno didn’t just leave him to die and in addition to seeing to it that the boy got the treatment he needed, he used the influence the Elite Four had on Kanto to reach out far and wide. It was a noble effort, but there was no luck in finding someone who knew the child. Bruno’s efforts, however, did catch the interest of the famous researcher, Professor Samuel Oak, who personally traveled all the way to the Indigo Plateau once the mysterious boy was finished recuperating. Sadly, even though his wounds were healed, nothing came back to his memory.

Originally, Bruno had no interest in becoming a father, but things change. By the time Oak paid his visit, Bruno had given up on the losing battle to find any relatives for the child and took him in as his own. Giving him the name “Kojak”, Bruno played a big role in his adopted son’s future as a trainer. So when Oak arrived, Kojak already had an average understanding of the types and characteristics of Pokémon, and this came off as great importance since the professor expressed his sympathy by offering Kojak his first one.

Even though he remembered nothing of who he was before Bruno found him, deciding his starter Pokémon was the first steps in Kojak becoming the type of person who doesn’t seek easy victories. Sensing he would one day challenge his father, who uses a few Rock-types, Kojak didn’t choose Bulbasaur or Squirtle who would have the advantage. Instead, he decided to continue his training with the Fire-type, Charmander as his first Pokémon.

It’s amazing how quickly someone’s personality can change. Indeed choosing Charmander provided the fresh trainer with more trouble than if he had chosen Squirtle or Bulbasaur instead. An example happened after Kojak endured another year of Bruno’s training and decided to head off on his own by descending to Viridian City. One of the gym leaders who Bruno had told him so much about, lived in this city, but since he refused to waste his time on a rookie, the closest option was Pewter City’s gym leader, the Rock-type specialist, Brock. Kojak knew very well that Rock-types would have the advantage over his Charmander, but because of Bruno’s training, Kojak has gone from a child who was timid because of his missing memory, to one who craved excitement and a good challenge.

As much as he respected his adoptive father for taking him in, Kojak also aimed to surpass Bruno, as battling one of the Elite Four was one of the biggest challenges he could find. However, even though he’s come to enjoy fighting strong opponents, Kojak was by no means stupid and was aware that even though he succeeded in defeating Brock, he wasn’t ready to take on Bruno or his colleagues. His opponent may have given him a hard time due to having the advantage in type matchup, but Brock was the weakest gym leader in Kanto and the experience Kojak acquired from his victory would only take him so far. Besides, he wouldn’t be allowed to properly challenge the Elite Four unless he earned the remaining badges.

By the time his Charmander evolved into Charmeleon, Kojak learned that even though he needed a set of eight gym badges to challenge Indigo Plateau, they didn’t necessarily have to be Kanto’s badges. During a good talk with Professor Oak, he learned of the Johto region and how close it was to Kanto. Not only did they have their own set of gyms, but a trainer who acquires all the badges can take on Indigo Plateau just as easily. Sure Kojak already had the lead in Kanto since he already had one of their badges, but he couldn’t help growing curious of what he’d find if he started over. Holding on to the Boulder Badge he won from Brock, he decided to cross over and earn his right to battle the Elite Four by winning the badges of Johto instead.

Gradually, the boy became stronger, and developed a fighting style where he goes all out at the first opportunity. No matter how much he changed the Pokémon on his team, there would always be one or two who had been trained for speed in order to raise the chances of landing the first blow. Each time he found someone to battle, Kojak would search for ways to bring his opponent’s Pokémon closer to his own and make it easier to hit them with powerful attacks. While not all of his Pokémon had the advantage when it came to being fast, Kojak worked hard to ensure they built the stamina to endure a long and difficult battle.

He held off on battling his father longer than he thought and ended up going back and forth between the Kanto and Johto regions, gaining more experience as a trainer with each trip. However, after a few years when his travels brought him back to Johto, he faced his strongest opponent yet. And that opponent was Marcus. Quite the opposite of Kojak’s energetic and positive personality, Marcus revealed himself to be quiet and cold—he hadn’t even told Kojak his name, saying it was of no importance. Even with this cold demeanor, Kojak knew a talented trainer when he saw one and even though he was a stranger back then, Marcus didn’t turn down the invitation to battle.

It quickly became clear to Kojak that his opponent wasn’t from around these parts, especially when Marcus brought out Pokémon he had never seen before. His instincts weren’t wrong when he sensed Marcus had experience, but Kojak was no pushover and even though he knew so little about them, he managed to take down 4 of Marcus’ Pokémon. Unfortunately, in the process of earning his 4th victory, Charizard was the only one he had left. Just looking at Kojak’s starter, Marcus knew that even if he had more Pokémon who could fight, only one member of his team stood a chance and summoned a Fire-type called “Incineroar”. It was a hard day’s fight, prolonged by the fact that both of them were Fire-types, but in the end, Incineroar was victorious.

This was the first time in a while that Kojak had lost and naturally, he wanted to at least learn the name of this mysterious trainer. Unfortunately even after such an exhausting battle, Marcus remained stubborn and left without saying anything. It was strange, as even though Kojak had conducted a diligent search for his potential rival, he wasn’t able to find him. In fact, his search has encouraged him to finally return to Indigo Plateau, where some of the best trainers were gathering. Every year, a tournament was held for trainers who have earned all the badges either for Kanto or Johto. The winner would not only earn their place in the hall of fame, but would have the privilege to challenge the Elite Four whenever they wish.

To Kojak’s disappointment, Marcus was not participating this year, but he wasn’t going to drop out after coming this far. Whether they got their badges from Johto or Kanto, everyone competing offered a chance for Kojak to show how well his training paid off. There were plenty of close calls, but he succeeded in making it to the finals, where Lorelei of the Elite Four was waiting to personally present him with his fresh, golden trophy after the referee made his victory official. Of course, a trophy wasn’t enough, as Kojak would need to get his photo taken and added to the Pokémon League’s hall of fame.

Allowing Lorelei to lead him down the hall that displayed Indigo Plateau’s past champions, Kojak almost dropped his hard-earned trophy when he laid his eyes on the latest portrait. It turned out the winner of last year’s competition... was Marcus, and that’s how Kojak finally learned his name. Interesting enough, Lorelei mentioned that not only had he never returned to exert his right to challenge the Elite Four, but his winning trophy had been smashed against the floor. Regardless, once his Pokémon were healthy again, Kojak was finally able to battle the very trainers he’s looked up to ever since they took him in. As impressive as it was for someone to win the tournament, only three trainers in Indigo Plateau’s history presented the skills necessary to get past the Elite Four... and Kojak intended to be the fourth.

It was tempting to stay and reserve the throne that Kojak received the right to sit in after becoming the new champion, but it was never in his nature to settle in one place and he decided to move on. If the unlikely event occured that the winner of the next tournament made it through the Elite Four to become the next champion, Kojak wouldn’t be there to defend his title. Continuing on his way, he decided to pay a visit to the gym leader of Saffron City, as well as his girlfriend, Sabrina. He came at a good time too, as Sabrina had just returned from abroad with something to give Kojak as a congratulatory gift. Telling Kojak she had been traveling the Hoenn region, she surprised him by presenting him with an unfamiliar baby Pokémon whom she rescued from abandonment and went by the name “Meditite”.

Holding the young Pokémon, he recalled how he and Sabrina first met. Since she was a Kanto gym leader, Kojak never had to challenge the Psychic Pokémon specialist when he stopped by Saffron City during the years traveling back and forth between the Kanto and Johto regions. During one of these occasional visits, however, he saw how some thug was trying to claim her gym so he could sell it to a trainer using Dark-types. Hard as she struggled, her Pokémon couldn’t handle it alone, so Kojak decided to step in. Being on a completely different level than Sabrina, he made quick work of the thugs and their Pokémon.

Impressed by how he defended her and the gym, Sabrina developed a crush on Kojak, and he soon returned to affection and took her out on their first date by having a picnic by the lake near the Indigo Plateau. However, the relationship became a complicated one, since Kojak wanted to travel while Sabrina was satisfied remaining in Saffron City to run her gym. Time and time again, they were tempted into breaking up, but no such thing happened. No matter how far apart they were, Kojak made sure to keep in touch with his girlfriend. In fact, another reason Sabrina gave him the Meditite, was to encourage him to go and explore the region that she was born in.

Eventually, he gave in and set sail for Hoenn, leaving some of his Pokémon behind to make room for his future teammates. What he didn’t expect, was that two years later, he would reunite with the mysterious trainer named Marcus and not only challenge him to another battle, but decide to accompany him after he lost again. No matter how hard he tried, Kojak wouldn’t let Marcus get away again, since staying beside him and seeing him train would surely teach him what he needed to know to surpass him. However, as the years passed, Kojak seems to have stopped taking this rivalry as seriously as he used to, and found himself tolerating Marcus’ arrogance.

The one named Richard had finally woken up, as the scent of Kojak’s stew triggered his empty stomach. who had just exited from his tent. It was typical for him to be the last one of the trio to wake up, due to how engrossed he becomes in reading books and research notes he brought on his travels. He was confident that the ice around Mt. Silver would further his research on how Pokémon can cultivate and survive in such freezing temperatures. As a bonus, coming out here has helped with his study of evolution stones, as the ice is cold enough to freeze and crack its inners without any form of heat.

With the tent still shut, Richard changed out of his sleepwear and into an outfit appropriate for Mt. Silver’s cold weather. Out of the three men, Richard was the tallest and contrary to Kojak’s wild, long hair, Richard’s hair was nice and short. He combated the cold temperature with a blue overcoat that was presented to him as a gift after he drove off a group of biker thugs a few years back. Blowing in the wind, the coat went down to his legs and stopped next to his black boots. His pants were almost the same shade of blue as his coat, and were held in place by the belt that he carried his Pokéballs with. The shiny gold buttons on his overcoat were left unfastened, which didn’t make much of a difference when it came to the long red scarf he downed. However, since he chose to leave his coat open, it revealed the simple black shirt he wore underneath, as well as a necklace that was attached to the only Pokéball Richard chose not to put on his belt.

Born in the Kalos region capital, Lumiose City to wealthy, but snobbish parents, Richard was constantly pressured to submit to their suffocating expectations. Coming from a long line of aristocrats, they had already decided even before he was born, that their son would learn to climb the social ladder and marry an equally aristocratic woman to continue their legacy. Furthermore, they hated Pokémon, and wanted to make sure Richard had nothing to do with them. Persistent as they were, Richard decided it would be a nightmare to follow in their footsteps. As he continued to defy them, they resorted to having the mansion’s staff keep a close eye on him until he broke. It was only on the day he was to turn 14, that Richard successfully escaped the mansion without being caught.

Lumiose just happened to be the same city where Professor Sycamore’s lab was, and the said professor was waiting for the boy craving freedom and adventure to arrive. While Sycamore wasn’t the least bit fond of Richard’s parents, he had been observing their son from afar and came to acknowledge how different their opinions were on Pokémon. Having the duty of presenting a child with their companion when they came around Richard’s age, Sycamore made the perfect birthday present when he introduced Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie.

Taking one look at the beautiful Fire-type, Fennekin, Richard’s mind was made up. Unfortunately, Fennekin tend to be a temperamental species, and the one Richard had his eyes on wasn’t an exception. To this day, he still remembers how the moment he held his soon-to-be companion for the first time, she instantly responded by scratching at his arms and then tried to burn his face. Sycamore observed the entire thing and offered a more compliant starter, but much to the professor’s surprise, the boy stuck with Fennekin. That temperamental nature of hers, ironically ended up providing Richard the chance to escape after he made the mistake of coming home.

Even now, Richard doesn’t know what possessed him into coming home, but after doing so, he finally faced facts that his parents’ concern for their son was using him for monetary and social gain and cut all ties with them after surviving the chaos that followed. Since Fennekin had refused to go back in her ball, Richard was forced to carry her when he retreated to Sycamore’s lab with as much as he could get during the fiasco. When he filled the professor in on what happened, Sycamore noticed his new trainer had received some new scratches and repeated his offer to replace Fennekin. Even back then, Richard so something in the vixen that he couldn’t explain and once again refused to return her.

After Sycamore’s generosity has provided him with everything he needed to start his adventure, including empty Pokéballs, Richard was on his way. He used the time of his stay at the lab wisely, since there was no better place he could think of to learn about Pokémon. Sycamore had allowed him to see his reserve and the many kinds of Pokémon that they cared for and allowed to roam freely. Richard enjoyed his stay, as it was like going to a zoo and studying afar, but since Fennekin resumed her feisty behavior, Richard realized that he wouldn’t be able to accomplish his first priority of taming the vixen if he was cooped up in Sycamore’s lab.

Putting what he learned to the test, Richard experimented ways to steadily get Fennekin to acknowledge him as her trainer. Such included cooking her favorite foods and grooming her. As he repeated these methods, Fennekin’s hostility slowly began to melt away, eventually reaching the point where she’d follow orders. It was then that Richard moved on to see what kind of discoveries awaited him on his adventure. He maintained the pace that would provide him the time he needed to learn as much as he could. Richard found rewards for his patience, such as his Fennekin evolving into Braixen. It was after he pulled off a swift victory against Ramos of Coumarine City, that she became the strong and proud Delphox she is now.

Though even with these accomplishments, many trainers labeled Richard a weakling who is more interested in science than Pokémon training, but they were quickly proven wrong. Of course, Delphox can’t take all the credit, for Richard has caught and raised many other Pokémon while roaming the Kalos region and sharpening his skills. Whether by luck or by fate, after months of carefully studying and training, Richard had earned all eight of the Kalos gym badges. Sycamore expected that he would go and take on the Pokémon League tournament, but Richard took a different approach. Not wanting his goals to be bound to a single region when the world was such a big place, he held onto the badges and decided to hold off on this year’s tournament so he could see what was outside the Kalos region.

The Sinnoh region was his first stop, as he intended to meet the region’s leading expert, Professor Rowan upon arriving in Sandgem Town. Indeed, he learned much when the intimidating-looking, but kind man agreed to fill him in on what he has researched over many years. Conversely, Professor Rowan was able to learn quite a few things from Richard during his visit, especially since he brought Pokémon that don’t inhabit Sinnoh. He would spend the next five years under Professor Rowan’s wing before continuing on with his journey.

Taking a two day hike to Jubilife City, he wasn’t too thrilled about coming to the biggest city in Sinnoh, primarily because it reminded so much of his miserable childhood back in the equally big city of Lumiose. Blocking out the memories became much easier when he ventured deeper into Jubilife and came across a heated battle taking place in the middle of the vast city.

It was here that Richard first laid eyes on Kojak and Marcus, as they were the ones who were fighting. While he didn’t personally know them at the moment, news of the Indigo Plateau championships reached as far as the Kalos region, so Richard quickly recognized their faces, especially Kojak’s since he had a reputation for defeating the Indigo League’s Elite Four. As surprised as Richard was to see Kojak lose to a man with a less-known reputation, he got a bigger surprise when he noticed how differently they treated their Pokémon when it was time to put them back in their Pokéballs.

Displeased as Richard was for the lack of appreciation before him, he would later develop a huge amount of respect for both trainers after what happened the following night. Having himself cut off from his family years ago, Richard would have never expected thugs to break into his hotel room after being hired by his parents to bring him back. Their plot would have succeeded if the two trainers who Richard saw battling that afternoon hadn’t miraculously come to his rescue. Introductions were in order was the thugs has left and once Richard learned their names, he felt devoted to Marcus and Kojak and felt the need to repay them. To this extent, he decided to accompany them on their journey and use his knowledge to the best of its ability.

Usually, a book shouldn’t be judged by its cover, but that didn’t apply to the man who was looking down from Mt. Silver’s incredible height. An unusual combination of pleasant and intimidating, Marcus Thorne had jet black hair, partly covered by a brown stetson and his face was cleanly shaven, making him seem more like a teenager than a man who was in his late 20s. Handsome as he may be, the rest of Marcus’ appearance, exposed his true, dangerous nature. He wore an open black jacket that was torn at the shoulders, revealing muscles that rivaled Kojak’s. Since it was left unzipped, his chest was left exposed, showing his muscular chest that was covered by a dark gray tank top. He also wore gloves on both his hands and like his jacket, they were torn, exposing his fingers. In addition to being in better shape than his jacket, Marcus’ pants were a slightly lighter shade of black, and he had spiked braces strapped on each leg, matching the one he wore on his right arm. Finally, he wore black boots with sharp spurs attached to each one.

If physical appearances weren’t enough, his behavior would surely expose his disturbed nature. Looking at how cold and emotionless his unique purple eyes were, one can assume whatever happened to him was a tragedy, but even after so many years, Marcus has never told anyone his entire story. The most anyone was able to get out of him, was that his horror occurred at an age where he was still too young to become a licensed Pokémon trainer, and by the time he received a Litten from Professor Kukui, there were few things he despised more than Pokémon—Amongst them was weakness.

This deep burning hatred only got worse over time, so it only made sense that the boy learned to become a fighter. With his new Litten, Marcus underwent the training that made him take his first steps towards becoming the cold-hearted man he is today. The more his hatred grew, the harder he pushed his Pokémon and therefore, the more became successful he became in combat.

Unlike Kojak and Richard, Marcus wasn’t interested in finding more Pokémon than he could carry—the six on his belt were the only ones in his entire possession. Even before getting a full team, Marcus displayed a brutality and talent to surpass the Alola Kahunas and moved on to bigger challenges as he searched for the Pokémon that would earn their spot on his team.

Litten, who in time evolved into Torracat, and again into Incineroar, was the Pokémon on Marcus’ team who played the biggest role in her trainer making a name for himself as one of the best, yet most ruthless trainers the Alola region and beyond has ever known. This is primarily because Incineroar had never lost a battle in her entire life. Even before meeting Marcus as a Litten, she shared traits with her master, such as hating the sight of weakness. Such traits only grew stronger as she endured Marcus’ training and evolved. However, she was also unique, for while her kind are known to disobey and even attack their trainers, this Incineroar genuinely respects and cares about Marcus, despite how hard he is on her, obeying his every order no matter how cruel.

Marcus reached into his pocket to pull out a box of cigarettes, having developed an interest in smoking a few days before coming to Mt. Silver. He could feel Incineroar rattle in her ball, wanting to do him a favor by giving him a light, but Marcus ignored her and eventually, the ball stopped shaking. Pulling out a lighter, he brought the flame to the tip of his cigarette and took his first smoke for the day. The fact that he was beginning to smoke, showed that he has fallen even further.

“Marcus, didn’t I explain before that those cigarettes don’t come without a price? Keep this up and you’ll end up losing a few pearly whites and parts of that “flawless” skin,” Kojak quipped with a smirk. Marcus acted as though he didn’t hear the witty remark and exhaled the smoke. It seemed like he didn’t even notice that Richard was walking towards him. As the medical expert of the team, he didn’t think of it as a laughing matter, and looked at Marcus in disgust as he inhaled his cigarette again.

“Seriously, Marcus,” he said, leaning down “you know how I feel about smoking. In addition to being disgusting, it’s harmful not just us, but to our Pokémon.” This was one of the few times Richard tried to reach out to Marcus, as just like Kojak, he has virtually given up on getting through to this arrogant man. When he finally opened his eyes to look up at Richard, the typical, emotionless look let him know that he was wasting his time. Sighing that he failed once again, Richard walked away, tired of the smell of smoke.

Marcus carried on with his put out his cigarette while watching Richard eat the stew that Kojak had prepared. He on the other hand didn’t take a single bite, but the moment his accomplices were done finished, Marcus stood up and spoke his first words for the day.

“Let’s get out of here,” he ordered, walking over to grab his backpack, which had been lying by his tent. “If you don’t hurry, I’m leaving you behind.” With that, Kojak and Richard followed Marcus’ lead as he made his way down the path they had to travel to get up here.

The weather on Mt. Silver was disastrous, but the weather was quite the opposite elsewhere. Here in the land known as Equestria, not a single human or Pokémon could be found. In their absence, the land was inhabited by ponies.

The town known as “Ponyville” was small, but it had a reputation as the friendliest place in Equestria. Though everyone in town seemed to be busy in their own way, there was no doubt that each of them has at least once stopped to look at the single castle that resided in their little community. A castle that was not only home to a princess, but a hero.

As the light of the sun shone into her bedroom, the young alicorn Twilight Sparkle woke up with a happy sigh. It was almost time to begin another day at her new School of Friendship, and Twilight was especially excited since she had scheduled to take her students for another field trip. She could already imagine how eager they were to get out of bed and start the big day.

Trotting downstairs, Twilight smiled to see that her number one assistant had gotten up before her and was preparing her favorite breakfast. Ever since Spike got his wings from that molt incident, he’s become a lot more independent with his lifestyle. For example, he’s been spending more time with other colts, playing whatever kind of games they love to play. Given how much he did for her and her friends, Twilight did nothing to stop him from hanging out with the foals.

Even after she finished her breakfast, it was still early enough for the students to still be asleep. Luckily, Twilight couldn’t think of a better way to wake them up than to present them with a nice, tasty breakfast made by Pinkie Pie and Applejack. If Twilight didn’t know any better, she’d say those two mares were probably already wide awake and cooking up something in the school cafeteria.

Conveniently, by the time the lavender alicorn was fully awake and had gotten herself cleaned up, it was just about time to start class. Twilight could already imagine her students’ young and happy faces, which hopefully would stay happy for this field trip. Although she has already forgiven them, she clearly remembered what happened on the last field trip when Applejack and Rainbow Dash were competing to be the teacher of the month, endangering the students in the process.

Though she had her own duties as the headmare of the school, Twilight has decided to supervise today’s field trip alongside her guidance counselor, Starlight Glimmer. The day was just beginning and she was already that this field trip is going to work out much better than the last.

As Twilight had anticipated, when she arrived at the school, she was quickly greeted by her students who were smiling and eager to get today’s adventure underway. Starlight gave her former teacher a wink to reassure her that she had her back. Though, she was concerned that Twilight ended up overpacking when it was time to head out, and remained unconvinced when Twilight claimed to have only packed the essentials.

“Let’s be on our way then class and remember, stay together,” Twilight said firmly, getting a nod from her students in return. The walk to the Everfree Forest didn’t take too much time, 10 minutes at the most. Even before they arrived at the forest, the kids followed their headmare’s instructions of making sure not to get separated.

“Uh, Headmare Twilight? Are you... sure we won’t run into those creatures that attacked us like last time?” Ocellus asked as the group took their first steps into the forest. Even though the young changeling had made good friends here in Ponyville, she retained parts of her shy and nervous nature, especially in a place with as many nasty surprises as this forest.

Twilight was aware amongst all things, Ocellus was mainly wary of the pukwudgie. Fortunately, the young princess took the liberty on studying when the pukwudgie come out, and on this particular day, they are scheduled to take long naps so they would have the strength to nurture their young later on. Ocellus was relieved when Twilight explained this to her.

After strolling around the forest for a good 20 minutes, Twilight decided that a short break was in order. Looking around, she saw that not a single threatening animal was in sight as her students were taking time to drink some water, and once they were rehydrated, she saw it as good as time as any to review today’s plan.

“Attention every-creature! As I’m sure you are aware, we have quite a number of fun activities planned for today’s field trip,” she said before she pulled out the scroll containing today’s schedule. As it unrolled and hit the ground, the same could say the same for the students’ jaws. When Twilight looked up from the scroll to see their reactions, it was difficult for her to tell if it was from the long schedule, or the amount of fun they were going to have.

“Do all of her plans have to written on a schedule this long?” Smolder whispered to Starlight, which made the light purple unicorn giggle. They were obviously unaware that Twilight could still hear them.

“No, they’re usually a lot longer than this one,” Starlight whispered back. Annoyed, Twilight finally got their attention back by coughing a few times, and they immediately ended the conversation with sheepish smiles.

“As I was saying, for today’s fun-filled activities, we will begin with a little hooves-on experience about the journey my friends and I made when we searched for the mysterious Elements of Harmony, including the trials we had to face to get to them. First off, we are standing right outside the exit of the forest where Rarity, willingly helped our dear friend, Steven, the sea serpent, fix his broken mustache by cutting off her tail using Steven’s scales. Thanks to her generosity, Steven helped us cross this very river to one of our next trials,” she explained.

“Didn’t we learn about this in history class?” Sandbar asked. Twilight smiled and nodded at the green colt, happy to see he’s been paying attention to his studies.

“Indeed Sandbar, but what better way to learn about the Elements of Harmony than to witness the trials that took place here with your very own eyes? After all, it’s not every day you get to see a piece of history up close, now is it?” Contrary to what the excited mare was expecting, her students just responded by shrugging.

“Oh, don’t be that way,” she said, keeping a smile plastered on her face. “Come on, I’ll even show you all to the abandoned castle of the royal sisters where my friends and I faced Nightmare Moon!”

“Yak not like scary, abandoned castle!” Yona said and Sandbar put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. I turned around and smiled reassuringly.

“I promise you all, there’s nothing to be afraid of. If things get a little out of hand, Starlight and I will handle it. Now, shall we move on ahead? The bridge is only a hop, skip and a jump away,” Twilight said, confidently. Once her words seemed to have done the trick, the group continued on our way. Even though she was a grown mare and the head of the school, the excitement almost made Twilight want to scream and dance around like Pinkie Pie. Of course, she did no such thing, and continued to lead Starlight and the students forward until she could see the clearing of the forest.

“Okay class, beyond this river lies the bridge leading to the castle of the royal sisters! Is everyone excited about this?” Twilight asked, but none of them replied. Before she had the chance to question their silence, she noticed that Starlight’s cutie mark was glowing. The surprise was doubled as she pointed to Twilight’s own cutie mark, which was glowing as well. Naturally, Twilight groaned as she really don’t want to cancel the field trip so early, but if the map needs us, it wasn’t up for debate.

“I’m sorry, class, but we’re gonna have to return to school on short notice,” Starlight said and of course, they all groaned in disappointment.

“Yak not want to leave so soon!” Yona complained.

“I’m sorry but...” Twilight stopped and flicked her ears as she picked up the faint sound of rustling from the nearby bushes. Curiosity seems to have gotten the better of her, as she couldn’t help walking over to the said bushes.

“Stay here,” she said firmly before making my way through the bushes, readying herself for whatever she might find by channeling her magic to her horn.

The first thing Marcus, Kojak and Richard noticed as they came back to their senses, was how the weather was a lot less stormy than it was on Mt. Silver. It wasn’t long before they realized they were no longer on the mountain, but rather some kind of forest. Crazy as it is, the trio hadn’t even a remote idea as to how we got here. The last thing they could remember, was descending down the mountain and now here they were on the ground. What was also strange, was that each of them was feeling sore.

Shaking off the pain, Marcus pulled himself back onto his feet and stretched out to ease his aching joints. While having no memory of how they got here, he was annoyed that he had lost his cigarette during their mysterious transportation and reached into his jacket to pull a fresh one out of the box. He was pleased that he hadn’t lost the box nor the lighter and started to fiddle with the device to get a flame. Richard who was also loosening his joints, looked over and shook his head to see that Marcus had replaced his cigarette.

“Seriously? We’ve been mysteriously relocated to somewhere not even our Pokédex maps can locate, and the first thing you want to do is smoke?” he criticized. “The least you could do is make sure you have all your Pokémon.” As if to make his point, he took one of his own Pokéballs off his belt and held it up.

“You have eyes, you can clearly see that my Pokémon are still where I left them,” Marcus retorted as coldly as ever. When he finally got his lighter to spark a flame, he brought it to the tip of his cigarette and felt the stress wash away as the addictive chemicals entered his system.

“Whatever, where are we?” Richard asked as he went back to stretching.

“Last time I checked, we were just moments away from leaving that blistering mountain,” Kojak replied. “How can...”

“Shut up,” Marcus cut him off, as he sensed that someone was watching them and gazed over to the nearby bush. “We have company...” While he avoided getting help from his Pokémon as often as he could, he had no idea what was in that bush and decided not to take any chances. Taking one of the Pokéballs from his belt, he readied his attack. Whatever was spying on them, Marcus decided it probably wasn’t worth using Incineroar and settled for another Pokémon.

“If you can understand me, come on out. I won’t tell you again,” he warned, as he pressed the button to enlarge the ball. He lost his patience after another minute, and tossed the ball into the air, releasing the rare Dragon-type Pokémon, Kommo-O. The large golden scales on her tail rang loudly as she swished it back and forth with a roar. Though, she quickly settled down so she could hear Marcus introduce her to her target. No verbal commands were necessary this time, as Kommo-O took off towards to bushes after seeing Marcus simply point towards them.

“Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!” Twilight screamed as she finally decided to reveal herself. Hearing Marcus command her to wait, Kommo-O halted her assault with her claws just inches away from Twilight’s face.

An awkward moment of silence went by, only to be broken as Marcus and Twilight asked the same thing in unison.

“Who are you?”

Unpleasant Introductions

Author's Note

I put a great deal of thought into this chapter and even though it took time, I’m satisfied with how it turned out. Of course, I’m not going to take all the credit as I had IsraelYabuki and Wolfman93 by my side to put it together. It’s a bit of a long chapter so I recommend reading slowly. Hopefully the next chapter won’t be so complicated.

Unpleasant Introductions

Chapter Two: Unpleasant Introductions

Even though Twilight took things seriously whenever the map summoned her, she didn’t expect that her newest mission would require the help of all her friends, nor did she expect that they were being asked to go to the Everfree Forest. By the time she had been forced out of her hiding spot in the bushes, her friends were already hurrying to meet her in the Everfree. They had a hunch that if the map was summoning them to the same place that Twilight was conducting her field trip, she might have been in trouble. The loud clanging of Kommo-O’s scales, was all it took to let them know where the lavender alicorn was.

Marcus tapped his foot, irritatedly, as Twilight managed to restrain her friends, who had assumed he was the enemy. He still had questions, and aside from her name, the most he was able to get out of Twilight before her friends showed up, was the name of this forest. While that did let him know that he and his associates weren’t anywhere close to Mt. Silver, it was only increasing the confusion to overhear things like a friendship map or being summoned. Another thing that annoyed him, was watching as sweet little Fluttershy walked over to his Kommo-O, who he still hadn’t returned.

“Oh my, what a b-beautiful creature this is... Y-You don’t mind if I pet it, do you?” Fluttershy asked, extending her hoof out to the Pokémon. Unfortunately, Marcus didn’t need to answer, as Kommo-O showed her ferocity by roaring at the yellow mare. She yelped and backed away from the dragon, who followed up with a nasty growl and went back to making noise by swishing her tail. Immediately, Fluttershy’s friends rushed in front of her as she almost started crying.

Kommo-O was eager to pick a fight, but she heard Marcus cough to get her attention. “Pathetic. I can’t believe you’re this close to forgetting how much you’ve been trained not to attack unless told to, Kommo-O,” he scowled, leading his Pokémon to stop swishing her tail. The ponies were shocked at how easily he could contain the ferocious dragon, but even so they kept their guard up. After all, Twilight was the only one who knew they were humans, due to what she had to go through traveling through the Crystal Mirror to get her crown back from Sunset Shimmer. Though, she wasn’t so sure they came from that world after seeing Marcus summon a creature from a ball.

“Honestly, if I knew the one who was spying on us from the bushes was so damn puny, I wouldn’t have wasted my time calling you out, Kommo-O,” he scoffed.

“Excuse me? Who in Equestria do you think you’re talking to? You may not have any clue on who I am, but you will watch your tongue and apologize for spouting that nonsense,” Twilight scolded, acting as if she were Marcus’ superior.

Rainbow Dash decided to take over from there and flew past Kommo-O to get to Marcus. “You’d better listen buddy! Twilight here is one of the princesses of our land and I’ll have you know she would have no problem taking down that freak of yours! If it belongs to you, then after apologizing to Twilight, you’d better make IT apologize to Fluttershy!”

Honestly, since Rainbow Dash thought Marcus considered Kommo-O his friend, she thought he would have gotten angry that she just insulted her. Instead, he remained calm and blew some smoke in the cyan pegasus’ face. Coughing, she wondered what was in his mouth, as cigarettes don’t exist in Equestria. With one hand, he took his cigarette out of his mouth and tapped on it to remove the ashes, while his other hand reached for Kommo-O’s ball and put her back inside by engulfing her in a red light.

“Feel free to insult Kommo-O to your heart’s content, I couldn’t care less about her dignity. However...” Rainbow Dash suddenly felt unexplainably intimidated as she stared into Marcus’ eyes, and watched him reach for his belt, where he just happened to carry a long black leather whip, “...I don’t take lightly to a cheeky brat giving me orders.”

Richard finally decided to interfere, as he’s known Marcus for a while and could predict what ugly outcomes would come next. “Let’s all just calm down for a moment,” he said getting in between Marcus and Rainbow Dash before giving a proper introduction. “Good afternoon, ladies. I can understand that first impressions can bring us a little on the edge, so let’s please start over.” He bows in respect. “My name is Richard and you’ll have my word no harm will come from Marcus here if you remain cautious.”

“I’m Kojak, the livewire of the group and also the chef,” Kojak said, just barely able to contain his excitement. Out of the three men, Kojak had the easiest time finding something to be positive about.

Richard’s calm tone and Kojak’s positivity did the trick in getting the girls to settle down, and they decided that even know they’ve just met, they liked both of these men more than Marcus. No longer having any reason to pull out his whip, Marcus sat back on the stump and went back to smoking. Things seemed to have gotten peaceful, but he soon got another reason to feel irritated when Starlight showed up with Twilight’s students following her.

“Great. Now there are more brats to annoy me...” he grumbled sarcastically. As offended as the young creatures were, they took caution as they looked at Marcus and how he dressed. In addition to being something they’ve never seen before, it’s not everyday you see someone who wears spiked cuffs as part of their style.

Starlight quirked an eyebrow at Marcus' rude behavior as she watched him light up his cigarette, not knowing why he does it or what the point of it is. “Uh, Twilight... what exactly is going on here? Do you think they could be the source of the friendship problem?” she asked.

Twilight didn’t know herself what the map was responding to, but her guidance counselor here just made a good point. When Marcus called out his Kommo-O, Twilight assumed she might have been his pet or something of the sort, so like Rainbow Dash, she thought he would have defended her honor when she was called a “freak”. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. She decided that their first priority however, should be to get out of the forest.

There were plenty of things that agitated Marcus as Twilight led him to her castle. The residents of Ponyville were giving him the same looks that Twilight’s friends did, as no human has ever set foot in this town, let alone the kingdom of Equestria. Even when they entered the castle and away from prying eyes, Marcus remained in a foul mood and didn’t join his accomplices sitting down on the living room couches.

“Don’t expect any apologies from the boss. I can only advise you ladies to keep your distance and watch what you say around him.” Richard sighed as he watched Marcus stare out the window. As addictive as cigarettes were, Richard noticed how even though Marcus had already finished the one he pulled out in the forest, he was able to resist the urge to light another.

“More importantly, we all have a lot of questions and I think we should start with what you saw what Marcus brought out back in the forest. If it wasn’t clear already, the creature goes by the name “Kommo-O”, and she is what we call... a Pokémon.” For just a moment, Richard felt like a professor lecturing students who would soon set off on their adventures.

“What’s a Pokémon? Let’s start there,” Twilight insisted, watching as Richard got up from the couch.

“Some may call them things like “beasts”, or “demons”, or “monsters”,” he continued, pacing back and forth. “Where we come from, we’ve lived alongside these creatures since ancient times due to the various purposes they serve. I apologize if this is a lot to take in...”

“So technically, these creatures you call “Pokémon” are wild creatures that you live alongside with? Then how come you keep them contained in those strange balls you have?" Twilight pointed out.

“One thing at a time, Twilight. If I knew everything there is to know about Pokémon, by the time I was done explaining, we’d all be close to dying of old age. Like I said before, Pokémon play many roles for the ones who take them in, and we find ourselves coexisting with them in various styles.”

Richard pulled out a Pokéball from his belt, but noticed how nervous Twilight and her friends were getting. “Please don’t be alarmed. It’s just a demonstration,” he assured and pressed the button so that it enlarged and gave it a little toss.

He couldn’t help his choice, as it was one he caught while he was still and the Kalos region and therefore, one of his oldest companions. The ball opened with a bright flash, and the girls watched as the light took form. However, the flash only lasted for a few seconds before they were staring at a unique creature who while not necessarily harmless looking, amazed them with his mighty appearance. The Pokémon resembled a goat, as they could tell from his dark green, almost tree-like leaves, that it wasn’t any goat they were used to.

Richard smiled and tapped his leg, encouraging the magnificent Pokémon to come on over. Listening to him call him over, the ponies learned the Pokémon was called “Gogoat”. Letting out an unusual, but mighty sound, he raced over towards his trainer, accidentally knocking over the living room table as he did so. By now Twilight was too amazed to even care about the little mess that Gogoat made.

Richard chuckled and scratched behind Gogoat’s ears before looking at the ponies and extending a hand out. “Don’t be shy. The big guy is a little wild, but he loves new faces.” Fluttershy was the easiest to convince and once she joined Richard on the couch so she could rub her hoof on Gogoat’s head, he continued his explanation. “I can tell each of you has a good heart, so brace yourselves for this. We live with Pokémon for various reasons. While some people have them as pets, others seek to use Pokémon for competition, and that includes showing off their natural instincts in battle.” He had a feeling he would regret saying this and saw how the ponies’ reactions changed to anger and shock.

“B-Battle? W-Why would you do something as cruel as making such wonderful creatures fight for no reason?! How can you even live with yourselves, knowing full well what you’re putting them through?!” Rarity criticized and Fluttershy couldn’t agree more.

“Rarity’s right! You should be ashamed of yourselves for being so cruel to these creatures!” she added as she stopped petting Gogoat and looked at him with sympathy.

Kojak couldn’t stop himself from speaking up, having gotten a little angry at the mares’ accusations. “Hey, don’t be so judgemental! If you were listening, you would have heard what Richard said about it’s a natural instinct for Pokémon to fight. History has led for Pokémon to enjoy traveling and battling alongside us humans. If looking at how close Gogoat and Richard are isn’t enough proof for ya, I’ll bring out one of my own Pokémon!” he shouted. He was just about to go through with it, but Richard put a hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to calm down. Now that the table Gogoat knocked over was back up, Twilight brought a pitcher of fresh apple cider from Sweet Apple Acres, hoping Kojak would drink it and find it easier to relax.

Richard poured some of the cider and looked down at the beverage as he continued. “Kojak isn’t lying. I’m actually a bit of a scientist and I’ve put together my own experiments in order to study a Pokémon’s fondness for battle—it’s a sport. I’ll admit Pokémon aren’t all treated the same, but you can take my word that they won’t obey someone who they don’t respect.” He sipped his cider while reminiscing about how much grief Delphox brought him when she was still a Fennekin. “Since these are sentient beings and have their own personalities, they can acquire other interests than battling as easily as their trainers. I’ve watched plenty of contests and musicals where Pokémon get to express their love of performing on stage.”

Kojak had managed to calm down a little bit, compliments of the Apple family’s delicious cider. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to get swept up in the excitement of a competition. Regardless of what kind of abilities your Pokémon have, what’s REALLY important is how they’re trained to use them. I’ve never enjoyed an easy win, and I know for a fact that my team feels the same! In fact, Marcus here is one of the strongest trainers I’ve ever come across!” he exclaimed, but realized he might have said too much.

With sparkling eyes and a huge grin, Pinkie Pie hopped over to Marcus who was still gazing out the window. “So Marky...” she started, having decided on a nickname, “...did you ever take your Pokémon to these “musicals” as Richy here put it? Well, did ya? OOH! What about any competitions, how many of those did you win. Ooh! Ooh! Wait! How many Pokémon are you allowed to have with you at a time?” The questions kept coming until Marcus finally decided to turn around.

“I’m not impressed. What makes you think you can talk to me so casually?” he asked coldly. “Don’t you dare address me with that filthy mouth of yours ever again.” It just so happens that Pinkie wasn’t the first to call Marcus “Marky”, but there were only a certain few individuals he tolerated hearing it from, and none of them were considered by the agitated young man to be annoying brats.

Pinkie’s mane deflated like a balloon, as she was hoping to look past the rough meeting they had in the forest and make a new friend. She finally noticed how Marcus was tightening his fists and backed away, giving Applejack and Rainbow Dash some room so they could rush up and stand in front of their depressed friend.

“Now y’all wait just a goll-darn second there, partner! Ya have no right ta talk ta our friend like that! Ya wanna spout that nonsense at anypony, then try it on us!” AJ challenged.

“Yeah, and check that stupid, stuck-up attitude of yours, buster!” Rainbow added before turning to Pinkie. “Don’t listen to that bum. He’s obviously got no heart or class whatsoever like you do, Pinkie.” The rainbow maned daredevil looked back at Marcus. “Now as for your Pokémon, if that’s what the called, why would they even agree to stick by you? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you act like a dictator to them!”

Marcus looked down at the mares without changing his expression. “I despise cocky brats like you, but I’ll admit you’re at least a little perceptive. Each trainer has a right to their opinion on Pokémon, no matter how different it may be. I don’t criticize how others treat their Pokémon, but... I don’t tolerate my own methods being questioned,” he said, using a dangerous tone that sent shivers down the ponies’ spines. “I’ve decided a long time ago that I would consider all of my Pokémon as tools. As long as they choose to remain by my side, in exchange for obeying my orders, I continue to train them and give them power instead of affection.”

The ponies couldn’t believe what they just heard. Being the element of honesty, Applejack could tell that Marcus was telling the truth about what Pokémon mean to him. Rainbow Dash on the other hand, being the element of loyalty, wanted to strike him in his teeth since it infuriated her how he could disregard how his Pokémon remained by his side and cared so little about them. What held the mare back, was not how Marcus was wearing sharp accessories, but rather the strange amount of pressure she felt as his empty, purple eyes glared down at her. Alas, due to the element she represents, Rainbow Dash forced herself to overcome the intimidation and disregarding Richard’s warning like Pinkie had, she flew up to Marcus’ face.

“T-Tools?! How in Tartarus can you even call yourself a trainer if you treat living creatures like tools?! You need to get your priorities straight, or one of these days, somepony’s gonna take your so-called “beliefs” and shove them straight down your throat!” Rainbow scolded, glaring back. “And that somepony might just be me!” Before she could say anything else and risk getting hurt, Twilight’s magic surrounded her, forced her mouth closed, and pulled her away from Marcus.

“That was a smart move, princess,” he said, speaking the last word with clear sarcasm and disgust. “It’s about time we’ve cut the crap here. Now, I’ve heard that lackey of yours,” he said, pointing to Starlight, “wondering about the cause of your friendship problem. I don’t know what that means, and more importantly, I don’t care. But if your mission is indeed to change my opinion, it’s doomed to fail. You’d have a better chance of figuring out how to get us a damn ride back to our world.”

Deciding he had enough of this conversation, Marcus made his way to the front door, causing Twilight to arch an eyebrow. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Just because I have no idea what sent me here, doesn’t mean I intend to get cozy with you. Training keeps Pokémon from turning into slackers, and I doubt there’s a room in this castle with the space necessary to get it done.”

Though she wasn’t pleased by his tone, Twilight remembered her position and decided not to succumb to the urge to yell like Rainbow Dash did. If he needed a wide open space, she could accommodate him.

It was easier for Marcus to dismiss the curious looks he got from the ponies he passed by since he knew he was about to get what he wanted. While he didn’t plan on showing gratitude to Twilight for bringing him here, he got the space he needed as he stepped onto the school of friendship’s athletic field.

Turning around, the cruel young man scowled when he saw that not only had Twilight and her friends taken their seats on the bleachers, but some of the students have come out as well. Returning his attention to what he came out here for, Marcus reached toward his belt to grab ahold of three Pokéballs and threw them into the air. While their teachers knew at least a little bit about Pokémon, the friendship students had missed Richard’s lecture since they were told to go back to class and had virtually no idea what was going on. The most Richard was able to tell the kids on the way, was that neither them nor their Pokémon were part of this world.

Not long after they were thrown, the Pokéballs opened, and Kommo-O came out again, along with two Pokémon the spectators haven’t met yet. One of them easily resembled a fox, but with light blue fur and eight more tails than what most foxes have. The other one they almost assumed was a dragon, but they tried not to jump to conclusions when they saw that contrary to a dragon, the creature had claws at the ends of his wings. These two were Ninetales and the extremely rare Pokémon originating from prehistoric times, Aerodactyl.

Each Pokémon remained silent, awaiting Marcus’ instructions. This time Kommo-O wasn’t going to attack before receiving an order. Luckily she didn’t have to wait long, as her master had her get into position with her and Aerodactyl on the right, and Ninetales on the left. It was obviously going to be two against one, and this wouldn’t be the first time the fox trained like this. While his entire team was strong from the harsh treatment they endured, Ninetales was the weakest when it came to offense. Even so, she kept her place on the team, as it took more than strength to win a battle and Marcus’ battling style revolved differently than Kojak’s.

Since the fox stood closest to him, Marcus decided to start today’s training session with Ninetales receiving the first command. To keep his Pokémon’s attention, he got out his whip and began to strike the ground. “Hail!” he called out, and being a loyal Pokémon who refused to keep her master waiting, both Ninetales’ eyes and the tips of her each of her tails began emanating a light blue glow that flowed like fire. Twilight and the rest of the audience watched as dark clouds suddenly appeared above the field, and if the lavender alicorn heard Marcus correctly, she was glad the clouds didn’t overshadow the bleachers.

Richard heard Rainbow Dash snort and could easily sense she wasn’t impressed. Though she had achieved her lifelong dream to join Equestria’s best flyers as part of the Wonderbolts, RD still maintained her first job working with other pegasi on operating the weather. Even if she was only beginning to learn about Pokémon, the sudden change in weather was nothing new to her. Richard wasn’t going to force the cyan pegasus to support Marcus, but he felt the need to let her know how convenient it was that she wasn’t underneath the clouds by encouraging her to look back in front of her.

By now, everyone could see how Kommo-O and Aerodactyl cringed as large chunks of ice were starting to fall down on them, but that’s not all that happened. Now that the hailstorm was present, Ninetales began to disappear as the weather activated her Snow Cloak ability. To be honest, Hail wasn’t something that Ninetales could learn naturally, rather, she obtained the move through experimenting with one of the expensive Technical Machines. Normally, Marcus was against such methods, but in order to bring out the vixen’s ability to blend with her surroundings, he made a huge exception.

“This will most likely take a while...” Richard muttered after watching Marcus nonchalantly tell Aerodactyl to get off the ground, indifferent to the fact that it only brought him closer to the hail clouds. Feeling all eyes on him, he decided to elaborate. “I didn’t mention this to any of you, but one of the most crucial parts of a Pokémon battle is understanding type matchup. Each Pokémon holds a specific element such as Fire, Plant, Water, Ice, and Lightning, and the same applies to the moves they learn. It’s difficult to spot her now, but in Ninetales’ case as a Pokémon specializing in Ice-type attacks, she can bring serious harm to Kommo-O and Aerodactyl, who are Dragon and Flying-types respectively.”

This was a lot for the students to understand and they naturally had questions, primarily the young dragon named Smolder. Even with her limited knowledge of Pokémon, she could easily figure out which one was the Flying-type, Aerodactyl, but found it impossible to figure out how Kommo-O could qualify as a dragon. Ironically, Smolder’s usually shy classmate, Ocellus spoke up before her.

“So... the big one is a dragon?” Things suddenly got awkward for her and she wasn’t sure what to say next. “Well he’s... uh... He looks... very...”

“I think the word you’re looking for is “freaky”, and that would be accurate,” Smolder said, realizing the tiny changeling wouldn’t be finishing any sentences. It was precisely because Ocellus was sitting next to a dragon that she was familiar with, that she found it awkward to comment on Kommo-O. Thankfully, Smolder didn’t seem to have noticed that.

“Smolder!” Fluttershy chided, seeing her student was forgetting her lectures on kindness. Even though both Kommo-O and Marcus have been cruel to her, Fluttershy knew exchanging insults wouldn’t get them anywhere. Smolder jumped slightly, but stayed true to her opinion.

“I’m just saying he’s not very convincing. It would make more sense if that Aerodactyl or whatever it’s called, was the dragon.” Richard raised an eyebrow, wondering how long she would keep him from talking, while Kojak became amused at how the students automatically assumed Kommo-O was male. “I mean, dragons around here aren’t born with wings, but that thing doesn’t look anything like a baby. And what was it you said about being weak with ice? I mean sure dragons are cold-blooded, but-” She finally noticed Richard’s deadpan expression and got embarrassed. “So... you were saying?”

With a satisfied smile, Richard continued, “When a Pokémon is struck by an attack whose element serves as their weakness, the damage is often doubled. However, having the advantage in type matchup doesn’t guarantee victory. Even though she’s an Ice-type, Ninetales has the weakest attack power of all the members of Marcus’ team. Furthermore, both Aerodactyl and Kommo-O have been mentored well into training their defense abilities and stamina, especially Kommo-O.”

“Also, what makes you think Kommo-O is a guy? Aerodactyl is the only male Pokémon out there,” Kojak said, so close to laughing at Smolder and Ocellus’ embarrassment.

The said Dragon-type darted her eyes from left to right, attempting to locate a clue to Ninetales’ location. Indeed, Ninetales was inferior when it came to offense, but she was much faster than Kommo-O. Unfortunately, Marcus didn’t intend to give the vixen too many opportunities. “Dragon Dance!” he shouted. Producing what looked like red steam, Kommo-O began to sway back and forth, shaking her noisy tail as she did so. For a moment, it blocked out the awful sounds of Marcus continuing to crack his whip against the field.

“Ugh! It’s painful to watch. What kind of dragon dances like that?” Smolder asked. She continued to feel embarrassed that Kommo-O was called a Dragon-type.

“No kidding, it’s just moving back and forth like an idiot. Even I think that looks extremely embarrassing,” Gallus added, but unlike Smolder, he found himself able to chuckle. That was until Fluttershy looked at them once again. It was only after she heard another powerful strike of the whip, that she looked away wondering what these creatures have been through.

“Yak not able to keep up with weird dragon,” Yona said as her eyes were spinning out of control. “Yona getting dizzy. She wants to know the point in weird dance?”

“I’ve known Marcus for a while and I can assure you, he’s always serious, especially when it comes to training. He’s not aiming to help a specific Pokémon win, but instead is searching for various methods to see just how much they’ve improved.” Of course, it would take more than that to get them to take the dance seriously. “I don’t blame your commentary, as it’s hard to see the difference, but using Dragon Dance has just raised both Kommo-O’s strength and speed. The moment he gave the word, it became clear to me that since Ninetales is naturally faster, Marcus wants to start things off by finding out just how well Kommo-O can keep up by exploiting the effects of the dance.”

The weakness of Snow Cloak was that the Pokémon with the ability can never become completely invisible—they become especially easy to spot when they stop to use an attack. Like Richard just explained, because Kommo-O had improved her speed with Dragon Dance, it was time to find out if she could catch Ninetales before she camouflaged again.

“Ice Beam!” Marcus’ voice echoed through the fog that was picking up and Kommo-O was narrowly able to move to the side to avoid the ray of icy cold energy. Putting her speed to good use, she followed the direction of the beam and though it was faint, she saw Ninetales. Even though she vanished again before Kommo-O could get too close, the fox would only be able to get so far away before her trainer called out to her again, demanding the same attack. While Kommo-O failed to dodge, she had the chance to prove what Richard had said about her durability when the cold energy struck her chest.

“If you mess up again, I’ll only make things more difficult for you, Kommo-O,” Marcus scowled as his Dragon-type was still putting up with Ice Beam. “Charge through and use Close Combat!” Forcing herself to push past the attack and closer to Ninetales who was perfectly visible this time, Kommo-O prepared to begin her assault by raising both her tightly clenched hands. Ninetales had no choice but to stop using Ice Beam or else she wouldn’t have been able to get out of the way when Kommo-O brought both fists down. She attempted to get some distance, but even though she was faster than Kommo-O, the latter hasn’t gotten this close until now and had enough time to catch up to Ninetales and resume attacking with Close Combat by raising her leg up high.

Jumping out of the way as Kommo-O brought her heel down, Ninetales was almost able to camouflage again. However, instead of allowing that, Marcus decided to see if his Ice-type’s speed would allow her to land the next hit, as Close Combat hasn’t expired yet. Yelling at her to use Zen Headbutt, he observed as energy began to gather around Ninetales’ head before forming what looked like a shield. But before she could go through with the attack, Kommo-O had caught up to Ninetales, and the fox ended up using the psychic shield to block the fist that aimed at her forehead.

Having never seen Zen Headbutt being used as protection, Marcus raised an eyebrow as Ninetales skidded a few inches. It didn’t make the best kind of defense either, for even though Ninetales managed to weaken Close Combat’s final blow by using a Psychic-type move, the way the vixen twitched her eye proved she had still received a fair amount of damage. Quite possibly, the punch had its power cut in half.

“Crystallize yourself!” The Ninetales that roam the Alola region have a special ability to form hard ice crystals from their fur for either offense or defense. However, Marcus only allowed Ninetales to produce a layer around her head before ordering her to stop and prepare another Zen Headbutt. From this distance, it was virtually impossible for Ninetales to miss and Marcus didn’t give Kommo-O any instructions to defend herself before she got bashed in the stomach. Even with Ninetales’ weak attack power, Kommo-O has grown to be better at withstanding non-physical attacks like Ice Beam. Zen Headbutt itself brought a large amount of damage as a super effective Psychic-type, but the hard crystals had made it even stronger.

Marcus squinted his eyes and saw that Ninetales’ ice was able to withstand the impact against Kommo-O’s hard scales. He wondered just how much longer the armor would hold together, as he took into account how her crystals gradually became stronger each time he pushed her. This time, he allowed Ninetales to cover the rest of her body, and it wasn’t long before her entire form was shining with ice crystals.

After she was done creating her armor, Ninetales showed another improvement of enduring years of her master’s brutal training by looking up at Kommo-O without absolutely no fear. Of course, Marcus didn’t acknowledge her courage, for his only concern regarding her, was that she was obeying him instead of running away like she used to. Even when Kommo-O pull her head back to use Iron Head, Ninetales’ expression stayed the same as she stood her ground and only moved when Marcus told her to counter with another Zen Headbutt.

Even though she was confronting her natural enemy in type matchup since Iron Head held the Steel-type element, the strong layer of ice behind Zen Headbutt was still holding up. Even if Kommo-O was stronger and was using a super effective technique, as long as the armor remained sturdy, it would make up for the difference in physical talent.

“No cracks so far...” Marcus muttered when his Pokémon separated. “Kommo-O, use Superpower!” This time, Richard was the one who raised an eyebrow as the large dragon enveloped herself in a blue aura similar to the one Ninetales had when she summoned the hailstorm. Kojak was equally confused, for as a man who had Bruno as his master and father figure, he knew just about everything there was to know about Fighting-type moves, and Superpower was one of the riskiest ones.

Most of the small audience, including Fluttershy and Ocellus, couldn’t help looking away as Kommo-O dashed towards Ninetales as fast as she could and crashed into her with great force. Noticeable cracks finally appeared in the crystal armor as Ninetales found herself sliding along the athletic field. She almost ended up crashing into the bleachers when she finally found the strength to make herself stop. Though the fox stood so close to them before running back to her original spot on the field, the spectators were mostly concentrated on Kommo-O, who was now panting heavily.

Twilight watched how the dragon had suddenly become so tired, but Richard beat her to the punch and began another explanation before the young alicorn could ask for it. “Marcus just made a huge sacrifice to study Ninetales’ armor. Superpower is both a powerful and popular ability where a Pokémon gathers a great supply of energy and strikes the enemy with it. However, it’s very risky, as bringing such a degree of power by sheer force puts a great strain on the body—regardless how tough they are, when a Pokémon goes through with Superpower, the side effect leaves them drained.”

Just about all the extra power Kommo-O acquired from using Dragon Dance has left her, and her body has also become even more vulnerable to physical assault. For what it’s worth, however, Superpower didn’t do anything to affect her speed and if Marcus felt like it, there were many techniques at Kommo-O’s disposal that he could have her use to bring back her strength and durability. Again, IF he felt like it. Right now, he intended to take advantage of his Dragon-type’s detriment to conduct another experiment.

Though not as hard as Kommo-O, Ninetales was panting as well, but her ice crystals haven’t fallen off yet, despite the cracks. “Use Iron Tail, Ninetales!” Marcus ordered, deciding to use the crystals to enhance her attacks again. The armor on each of the vixen’s tails hardened even further as they appeared to turn into steel. Even though he knew the hailstorm would stop when Ninetales took enough damage, Marcus was no longer focused on hiding her with Snow Cloak and kept her perfectly visible as she charged forward.

Kommo-O showed her devotion to her trainer again by standing her ground and allowing the multiple Iron Tails to be brought down on the top of her head. Even though Kommo-O was strong against Steel-types, Ninetales had almost created enough force to make the larger Pokémon fall forward. Holding herself up on the tips of her toes, there was a chance Kommo-O could’ve been defeated just now, since she was still weak from using Superpower.

Having seen all he wanted from her for now, Marcus held up Kommo-O’s ball and she was brought back inside after being engulfed in red light. Looking up and spotting Aerodactyl became easier since the hail clouds began clearing up. He’s been suffering the most from the falling hail, but he still looked to be in good health.

“You know the drill, Ninetales,” Marcus said without any compassion. Aerodactyl heard as his trainer called him down, and coated his mouth with flames as he was then told to attack with Fire Fang. As Marcus had just implied, Ninetales knew what to do and started to form new ice crystals on her fur to replace the ones damaged by Kommo-O.

Once Aerodactyl was within range, Ninetales barely succeeded in avoiding being bitten by jumping in the air and landing on the larger Pokémon’s back. Aerodactyl didn’t touch the ground even as the vixen secured herself on top of him. Flying around the field and passing by the audience, his first thought was to start thrashing around, thus showing off the savagery his kind were feared for before they died off. While Marcus was strict with him, their years of training had taught Aerodactyl to keep his temper in check.

“Aerodactyl, use Agility!” The ancient Pokémon’s body got lighter and he began flying even faster than before. Though Ninetales was tired from fighting with Kommo-O, she maintained her hold on Aerodactyl and for extra insurance, wrapped a few of her tails around his waist. Noticing this stubbornness, Marcus gave Aerodactyl permission to be more violent, which included flipping upside down so the unfortunate passenger would scrape against the ground.

Calmly leaning to the side so his Pokémon would pass by him, Marcus gave his next command to Ninetales. Richard had explained at the start that Flying-type Pokémon suffer extra damage from Ice-type attacks, and even though Aerodactyl was also a Rock-type, that didn’t spare him from such misfortune when Ninetales unleashed her Blizzard attack.

It was quite something to see. One of the strongest moves in the Ice-type category, a powerful wave of wind and snow flowed from Ninetales’ mouth, surrounding her and Aerodactyl. The latter snarled loudly as he was struck by the snowstorm, and the harsh wind made it harder to flap his wings. Things didn’t stop there, as for the third time today, Ninetales used Zen Headbutt while exploiting the hard ice on her head.

Though inferior to Kommo-O, Aerodactyl has had his defenses trained over the years as well. Converse to Kommo-O being more gifted at withstanding special techniques like Ice Beam and Blizzard, Aerodactyl did better against a physical technique. Even so, Ninetales’ armor had created enough power to break the prehistoric beast’s concentration so that he stopped flapping his wings. He crashed on his front, but Ninetales knew he wasn’t done yet and was still holding onto him.

In less than five seconds, Aerodactyl recovered and pushed himself back into the air before Marcus could reprimand him. This quick recovery came of no surprise since Aerodactyl had increased his speed with Agility, but when he completed another lap around the field, he seemed to have gotten even faster than before. Marcus already told Twilight and her friends he didn’t care about his Pokémon’s dignity, but he could still sense that Aerodactyl would try harder to keep focused so he wouldn’t crash a second time. He decided to challenge that pride and see if Ninetales could bring down her opponent before the speed made it too hard for her to hang on.

“Blizzard!” he repeated and despite how fast they were moving, the audience got a momentary glance as snow once again surrounded Aerodactyl. It was then that the living fossil decided to stop going around in circles and changed direction to fly upwards. The cunning plan worked and Ninetales finally let go of Aerodactyl before her Blizzard attack did him in. Everyone looked up concerned as he vixen was falling, except for Marcus of course.

“Do something, Marcus!” Fluttershy screamed.

“Silence!” he snapped still looking up. The spectators who annoyed him to no end didn’t know it, but Ninetales’ armor was still nice and hard and absorbed the impact as she crashed onto her back. However, Marcus felt the need to punish Ninetales for failing to stay on and had Aerodactyl use a technique that took months of brutal training to learn.

“Aerodactyl, Sky Attack!” he shouted and with one hand, started grasping the necklace that none of the ponies acknowledged him wearing, while his other whipped the ground once again. With the acceleration effects of Agility still present, Aerodactyl began soaring down with a beautiful, bright golden light surrounding him. The aura made it impossible for the spectators to notice that as he performed the move, he began changing shape.

Ninetales looked up as she was about to be hit by the strongest Flying-type move. It wasn’t enough to frighten her, and she complied when Marcus told her to use Ice Beam. Even though the cold energy made a direct hit, Aerodactyl didn’t slow down and crashed down on Ninetales with a small explosion.

Soon enough, Aerodactyl emerged from the smoke and expressed his pride with a loud roar, confident he was victorious. Nobody noticed how he’s changed, as they were waiting for the smoke to clear up and show the result.